Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Let me entertain you...

So help me, I hate prime time television. What is the point of creating female characters who are strong, independent, intelligent, and successful, if we are only going to undermine them by making them obsessed with...well- I wrote it but I had to edit even myself, because it's just too degrading to post on my beloved blog. Plus, I can only imagine the scandalous Google ads that would pop up in effect. Let it be enough to say, if I am ever a single 45 year old doctor with a thriving private practice and amazing friends and coworkers, PLEASE do not let part of my daily dialogue be:
"Pete, I heard that Violet is having dinner with Allen and I just don't think I can handle that!"
And, like, omigosh! Mary totally said that Johnny said that Alex was holding hands with Jennifer behind the bleachers after 3rd period! But don't tell Jack that Sally told ME!!!
Barf.
It's an insult to my intelligence to have crappy writing like this drowning our airwaves, when legitimately entertaining and interesting characters and storylines NOT involving promiscuity and infidelity and too much eye-makeup are getting cancelled left and right. I'm just sad for these actors who probably fall asleep before they can even finish reading their own script.


Shows that are GOOD right now:

I love love love Pushing Daisies. Love the production, the delightfully over-stylized fantastical world they've created, love the dialogue, love the characters, love the concept. And every single thing Chuck wears, I totally would wear.

People who want to look cool will say the British one is better because that indicates they knew about The Office before the rest of North America, but quite frankly, I don't care. I love/cringe for every single character on this show and love every minute of it! Isn't it nice to know there's a show where everyone is nice? Even when they're being pranksters?

By now you should all have caught on to 30 Rock because it's 1) hilarious 2) original 3) Alec Baldwin is a management nightmare and totally PERFECT. I think most women relate to Liz Lemon. Or, at the very least, wish we had her candid honesty about...well, pretty much everything. Don't worry, Liz. It's rare I come across a donut I don't eat, either. Thanks for keeping it real. PS- I heart Kenneth!


As for 24 Hour Fitness, if you seriously expect me to stick around for longer than 20 minutes, you're going to have to nix all that crappy tv programming. Can't you at least put it one of those stations that only plays Law & Order reruns so I can focus? PLEASE?!?

19 comments:

louisgray said...

Regarding the Office: "the British one is better".

:-)

http://www.louisgray.com/live/2006/03/office-special-is-special.html

Silvs said...

Why do all people who say the British Office is better seem so snotty about it? I'm with you on the loving/cringing with every single character on that show.

And is 30 Rock not pure genius? Alec Baldwin is perfect and I think Tina Fey is my favorite woman in all of entertainment.

We have too much in common to not be better friends. I said it.

Salt H2O said...

Farrah, usually you're right on the money, but today I have to respectully and totally disagree- the office is NOT good right nowThe Office Jumped the Shark

In addition, how could you totally ignore Gossip Girl, the best guilty pleasure on telivision. If you're bored at work watch full episodes online. Gossip Girl

Salt H2O said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
f*bomb. said...

It's a free country, and unless you say something that makes you look like an idiot, I don't believe in censorship.
That being said, I don't understand why people who like the British Office have to say it's better in the same way people who say, "I loved that band waaay before you ever heard of them!"
Great. Fantastic. Congratulations. What? Do you want a sticker?

As for going downhill, I didn't even mention LOST, 24, Earl, or Prison Break, as season's past were far more impressive than anything done lately.

And as for Gossip Girl, I can't handle watching that blonde- she gave me anxiety attacks in every scene of "Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants." I kept yelling, "Don't give away your virtue!!! YOU IDIOT!!!" She makes me nervous for her moral state just by seeing her billboard. As for anything on that station, if I'm lucky enough to catch "Superman" or whatever, I usually just turn the sound off and listen to music while I iron. Everyone is so pretty, I don't even care what comes out of their mouth.
God bless the WB.

Anonymous said...

Umm, we are forgetting the pure genius of "A shot of love with Tila Tequila".I make my kids watch it with me every night.

bex said...

these are also my 3 favorite shows. seriously.

carolinesbakeshop said...

i heart 30 rock. so much.

the british version of the office is MUCH more uncomfortable, but not necessarily better. it's harder for me to watch because of it's extreme awkwardness. ricky gervais is much more of a jerk than steve carrell.

i still love ANTM, too. tyra is nuts.

Rookie Dad said...

I'm a longtime fan of Ricky Gervais's David Brent on the UK version of this show, so I'm probably one of those who sometimes sounded a bit smug when declaring "the British version was better." But when Carrell's character said, nay DECLARED, three little words in last week's espisode I realized that I laugh a whole lot harder with the US version. Caroline is right, Gervais has a genius knack for making it extremely awkward and uncomfortable (and therefore awesome), but the writing on the US version is definitely funnier.

Hearing Michael clarify, upon being informed that there was no legal effect to SAYING you declare bankruptcy, that he "didn't SAY it . . . [he] DECLARED it" even made me forgive the writers for the second half-hour of the gift basket episode.

f*bomb. said...

I don't know who that "Tila Tequila" gal is, but I DO know that when I woke up to it in the middle of the night, I was rather startled and a little confused. Not unlike some of those "contestants." Wow.

The thing about the office is- there ARE no bad guys. Even when someone is being mean, it's not on purpose (or at least it's in good fun). As for the "DECLARATION," I have only one thing to say:
HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAAAAA!!!!

f*bomb. said...

PS-
If anyone can find that AMAZING clip of Jack and Tracy in therapy together, PLEASE, For The Love!, POST IT!!! We had to watch it 3 times tonight, we were laughing so hard...

"Never let a hippie take you to a second location."

TUG said...

Ummm . . . Have you seen Life.

I like that show too.

Sara S said...

Another great show is Friday Night Lights. I totally got hooked onto this after I read a recommendation for the show from k8.

amanda said...

all of these shows, i love too. we would be best friends, if it weren't for the long distance thing.

The Dally Llama said...

Brittish Office: Good, but no better than the American one.

At first, they were a lot better at subtlety, to nobody's surprise. But the American version has closed the gap, and has taken character development through the roof. And I disagree that it has jumped the shark. Half the time when people say that, it's the same type of self-styled erudition that leads them to say that the British version is vastly superior, when it's really not; it's just someone wanting to be ahead of the curve. It's still hilarious, and anyone who doesn't think so might not have a sense of humor.

jamie said...

Hey Farrah! I adore the Office. Adore, adore, adore. Michael has completely grown on me and I hope he never comes off. I love every character on that show. They are all fantastic. I admit I have never seen the British version of The Office, so I can't compare, but I have to say I love Ricky Gervais in Extras. He is brilliant. If you ever have a chance to see it, DO! But I have to put a warning in that there's a reason it's on HBO, it's a little dirty. Okay, now you can't say I didn't warn. :) And I guess I'm going to have to watch Pushing Daisies, you're the 10th person to recommend it. Oh and I love your blog! :)

f*bomb. said...

O, WOW! HI, Jamie!!! I JUST got off the phone with none-other-than Wallace! We are cosmically connected, no doubt. The last time I talked with her, she ran into you on the street in DC. COSMIC.

Shout out to all of you coming out of the woodwork- Stanford-ers, SanFrans, SLC-ites, Provo kidz, Red Sox fans (woot-woot!), and all my other blogstalkers. You're lovely and if you'd comment, you'd see that there are a whole lot more of you that are connected than you think...

paintingyoupretty said...

I never made that connection that the girl on gossip girl is from sisterhood of the traveling pants. I actually heart S. XOXO. Also, Pushing Daisies is by far my new favorite show (behind Prison Break of course). I too love the clothes, color, humor, and lightheartedness. I watch it grinning from ear to ear!

f*bomb. said...

Yes, it is her. And every time I see her, all I want to do is throw a giant Mexican blanket over her and say, "protect your purity, Child! Protect your PURITY!!!"